Trap



G. FRIESS ET AL.

TRAP.

FILED AUGJS, 192i.

mme..

Dec. 26, 1922. 1,439,809.

l `e.. FmEss ET AL.

TRAP.

FILED AUG. 6, 1921. 2 SHEETSAHEU 2.

- Patented Bec. 25, i922.

' i is; `il if;

lenonen-rnirnssnnn nonnnrpivnssgor SEATTLE,` WASHINGTON Traer.

l application ala infusi e, 1921.*`l semi mi 490,223.

To cr/,Z whom 'it may conce/m.' y

Be it known that weyGnoReE Feiss-s and lloenn'r Nass, citizens of the United @tentes5 u' residing at Seattle, in 'thecouiity' of King` and State oit lWashington, have invented a 4cert-vain new and useful lmprovement in Traps7 o which the tollowing is a cation. f 7- v y This invention relates to improvements in traps forA catching animals, flsh,rbirds and the like and the object of this invention isuto specili- Y provide a trap thatv maybe used in the'open,

above ground vor that may ybe usedfor ani-y mals that burrow in the ground and that is constructed inI suchy a'manner that it will not fail to catch ananimal-bywhich it is p tripped.

p Anotherobject v.is toprovide a that is yparticularly well adapted orcatching moles and that will* operate in exactly the same manner, 4regardless of whichsidethe trap is approached from.

A further objectis to provide-a trap hav l ing a plurality of radially arranged'jaws or grippingarms that are adapted to be spread apart when the trap is set and to snap to gether on the central axis of the trap when?` the trap is vsprung in such a manner that they will ordinarily catch. an yanimal bythe head and Skill the animal instantly.

A further object is to provide `a novel mechanical means for setting` the trap, the said means being so constructed as to eliminate danger of injury to the hands during the trap setting' operation. l

A further object is to providel aftrap com prising a plurality of jaw members arranged about an axially disposed shank or stem and connected bylinks with said stemin such a manner that the .jaw members maybe operated by a compressionspring on thestem.

A further object is to provide novel trip mechanism that is strong in construction and yet is very delicate in operation andmay be set so that it is very easily trippedand,toy further provide trip mechanism thatmay be used either with .or without baiting, quicklyy removable attachments being applied to the when" it is desired to use a bait.;

Still further that lis simple in construction,- reliable in operation, :easy to set,-not"liable to get out of order and'not expensive to'. manufacture.

Withthe above and other objects in view asl will bebapparent from ythe l`following de-y kl-B-of `liligure yobjects are' to fprovide` a trap f scription, theinvention'consists in the novel construction, adaptation and combination of described and .claimed.

.parts 4as will be more clearlyy hereinafter lfn the accompanying drawings,k Figure ,i (1),.is. a` view in vertical-mid-section of a "trapkconstructed in accordance withthis inveiitiomparts being shown in elevation and f. the aws of the trap lbeing shown in an open yor vset ,-positioii. lligure is a similar .view'showing thejaws of thetrap in a closed position. Figure (3) f is. a viewpartly in plan ,andpartly in section on broken line l 'y ligure (Il) is an enlarged sectional detailillustrating parts of theset andl trip mechanism. Figure (5),is yview partly in elevation and partly in cross section showing the trip mechanism -that is'. attached when the trap is to be baited and kFigure (6) is a view partly inplan and cross section, substantiallyon a broken line` of Figure, (5),. i Like reference numerals designate vlike parts throughout the several views.

i Rcreriing to rthe drawings, the numeral" (7) :designates-a stem or Lpost that is threaded on its upper end or'the reception of a wingnut and that is rigidly se?` curedfat its lower end to al disk or plate (10) ywhereon are providedv six equidistantly spaced, upwardlyprojecting lugs (11) that.

are connected by pivot pins (12) with links (13). y d n l I Disposed on thepost (7) and resting upon the disk (10) is ahelical compression spring (14),.who'se upper end engages with the bottom side of a spider member (15) that is slidableon thepost (7) and that is provided at six equidistantly spaced points with outwardly project-ing pairs of lugsv (16)7 to which trap jaws (17) are pivotally mounted' by transverse pivot pins (18), the said trap jaws (17) being connected below 'the'spider (15) by pivots (20) with the outer ends ot the links (13) in such a manner that the compressive force ofthe spring (14) will tend tol draw the respective pivots (12) .(18) and(20) into alignment, thereby drawing. the lower ends of the jaw members (i7 )l l,poSt(7),5the/spider (15) and plate (10) will iio Atra

be movcdtoward each other against the pressure of the spring` (le), thereby causing a portionv 2(3), provided with an elongated opening` that vlits over the tube (2l) ind having: at its other end a hook (27) that s adapted to hook over the slightly flattened ,ide (28) of substantiallvcylindrical member (8O)T see Figure that is secured on a nin (3l that is j'ournaled in the lugs (24). he amont-rr that the pin (Si) can turn in one dirertion is limited by a stop member that is arranged to the upper surface ot the end ot the jaw member and serve a stop and that may also be used for securing the roller member (30) to the pivot pin The hook (27) is shaped so that when it is hooked over the rol-ler (30) as shown in Figl ure (el), it will tend to turn the roller. but

it the roller -is held securely will not slide ott. lt will however, slide oil assoon as the roll er released aiiid'permitted to turn even a slight amount, thereby releasing` the jaws *which are o viously held open by the arm when it holds the upper ends ot the two oppositely disposed jaws together.

The outer part 03": the pin (3l) is rigidly secured to a trip arm that extends downwardly and is curved at itsY bottom end to form a hook that is arranged to; engage with a lug on the bottom of a trip member that ispivoted b y means of' a pin (37) and lugs to thel dish (l0) andthat i'iurther supported by a screw (40) that and screws into the end of the post (7), the screw (40) servingv as means tor adjusting` the position ot the trip member (36), and as means tor preventing the trip member from swinging.

li? it is desired to use a bait with the trap, a bait holding device may be used7 said bait holding' device comprising` a flaring bait shield having an upward projecting lug; (43) that is hinged by a pivot (de) to a lun` (ll-5) on the bottom of the trip member andl that has rearwardly projecting spaced apart ams (46), provided with inwardly directed lugs (i7), (see Figure (6) ),that are arranged to engage with theends ot a cross pin (48) in the trip arm to hold such asses throughhy slot in the trip member' each other so that when the jaws are tally open ythe hook (27') willfhook over the roller afterwhichthe hook (34) on the bottom end oi' the trip arm may be placed in engagement withthe lug on the trip `member (E56) and may be held in the engaged position while the wing` nut is carefully unscrewed enough to permit the torce of the spring to be exerted on the arm (25), which in turn exerts a 'torce that tends to move the bottom end of the trip arm outwardly and thus'causes the hook (34) to press against the lug 'firmly enough'so'v that it will stand in this position unless it is disturbed, ai'ter the setand trip mecha-v nism is engaged in this manner, the hands may be removed from the jaws ot the trap and the wing nut tuned upvmrdy on the post (7) 'into' a position asv shownin Figure (l)l` thereby leaving'the trap unrestrained,

except by the set and trip mechanism so that when the tripL member (3G) is disturbed. thev hook (84e) will be released from the luf;r (3o), thereby permitting the roller enough to release the hook (Q7) and permit the jaws of the trap to spring' shut. rlhe hook (34) on the end oit the trip arm engages the lug' very lightly so that the slightest movement of the trip member will release the same,

lllhen the bait holding attachment shown in FiguresA and (o) is used, the operation' of setting `the trap is the saine as hereinbetere described, except that the lugs (47) on the bait holding` device are cause to enwith the cross pin lSQso that any movement that tends to disturb the hait holding` device will release the trip arm lll hen this trap is kto be used ttor catching molesthe jaws are opened by screwing the wing mit (8) down and are then inserted in the Laround in such a wayv that the mol-e in tollowingyhis usual course will be liable to pass under the trap. rl`he set and trip' mechanism Ais then properly engaged and ythe (30) to turn l .l il) wing nut moved upwardly on the post (7), l

so that when the mole works under the trap and in doing so crowds earth up againstthe trip' member (36)the trap will besprung and the mole caught. i

The inner edges of the jaw members may` be made uneven as shown at so that they will hold an animal more irmly but such edges will not be sharp enough to injure the i ,ceases I jaws (17) will be snapped together i'orcibly enough so that they will ordinarily-kill a small animal, as a mole or rat, instantly.

' The bait shield (42) makes it necessary for the animal toapproach from the `Jiront of said shield to get at the bait, thereby insuring that the animal will be properly within the aws (1?) before the trap is sprung.

rlhe trap may be made in various sizes, de pending upon the use for which it is intended and may be used either by inserting the jaw members in the ground, or permitting such jaw members to rest upon a floor, or by suspending the trap in the air. The trap may also be placed in the water where it may be used for catching lish if desired.

lThe trap is strong and simple in construction, reliable in operation, easy to set, not liable to get out oi" order and not eX- pensiye to manufacture.

The arrangement or the links (13), jaws (17) and spring (111) is such as to cause j the jaws to snap .together very quickly when the trip lmechanism is released, thereby insuring that an animal that is withln the jaws at the time the trap 1s tripped can not escape.

The foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings clearly illustrates the principles of construction and method of operation of this trap, but it will be understood that changes in the form, dimensions and arrangements of the various parts or such trap may be vresorted to within the scope orn the following claims.

l"Vhat we claim is:

1. A trap of the class described comprising a post, a spider slidable on said post, jaw members pivoted to said spider, two of said jaw members having diametically opposite upwardly projecting ends, a plate secured to the bottom end of said post, links pivotally connecting said plate and said jaw membersfor swinging said jaw members toward and away from the central axis of said post when 'said spider is moved on said post, a compressionspring on said post between said spider and said plate, s et means for connecting the upwardly projecting ends et said two aw members to hold the lower ends oi said jaw members in an open position, and easily releasable trip devices for holding said set means.. 'f

y2. A. trap embodying a post, laterally'projecting means rigid with the bottom end of said post, a spider slidable on said post, al

compression spring interposed between said spider and said laterally projecting means to urge the same apart, a plurality of jaw members piyoted Vto said spider, the upper ends of two oi said jaw members projecting above saitJ spider, links pivotally connecting said aw members and said laterally projecting means and arranged to expand said'jaw members when said laterally projecting means and said spider are moved toward each other-and to contract said jaw `members when said laterally 'projecting wardly projecting' ends ot said two jaw members and trip means operable from beneath the! lower end of ysaid post for releasing said set arm.

A trap oi the class described, comprising a post, a spider slidable on lsaid post, jaw membersy pivoted to said spider, two of said aw members having diametrically opposite upwardly projecting ends, a plate secured to the bottom endo' said post, links piyotally connecting said plate and said aw members for swinging said jaw members toward and away from the central airis of said post, a helical compression spring on said post between said spider and said plate, a set arm pivoted to the upwardly projecting end of one of said jaw members, a roller member pivotally mounted in the upwardly projecting end ofthe opposite jaw member, a hook on said set arm arranged to hook over said roller and extending downwardly theren from, a trip member hinged to the plate on the bottom end of said post and easily re` orsono-n rninss. nonnnr nass. 

